National Small Business Week is perfect time to review insurance

President John F. Kennedy first declared a National Small Business Week back in 1963, and now, 50 years later, President Barack Obama declared the week of June 17 -21 to be the time to honor small business owners and their firms.

It is not easy to lead a company, as this blog often discusses, because organizations of all sizes experience unforeseen events. For small to medium-sized businesses, any type of severe weather or time when the company doors are shut can be extremely costly. With National Small Business Week upon us, it is an ideal time to review current general business insurance policies.

Dan Danner, CEO of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, wrote a contribution piece for Fox News, describing the mindset of many small company leaders. According to Danner, most business owners are purposeful risk takers who work seven days a week.

"There is no such thing as a day off for a small-business owner," he wrote. "Especially when the business is really small – i.e. just a few or no employees. If we want to take a day off or go on vacation, the business itself must temporarily close, and that can be more costly than we can afford."

Danner added that when money becomes tight, owners will often forgo their own pay to ensure that all employees are paid. It's not safe to assume that all company leaders are rich, he said, and when cash flow is short, it could be months before an owner is paid.

With that in mind, business owners cannot necessarily depend on personal savings to get them through difficult times. Having the right commercial property insurance in place could be an ideal answer to contribute toward a quick recovery should anything negative occur.